Frozen soft drinks full of disturbing ingredients, experts warn

People drinking a slurpee or slushie to cool down in the summer heat could be sucking down an entire week’s worth of sugar in a single sitting, health agencies warn.

LiveLighter and Rethink Sugary Drink, an alliance of 18 health agencies, have teamed up to launch the ‘Don’t Be Sucked In’ campaign, warning that some large-size frozen drinks contain as much as 20.4 teaspoons of sugar.

That’s almost half an entire week’s recommended maximum in a single cup.

The campaign graphically depicts a person sipping on a large cup of bulging, toxic fat and will be plastered at Melbourne bus and tram stops for two weeks.

“These cheap frozen drinks might seem refreshing on a hot day, but we want people to realise they could easily be sucking down an entire week’s worth of sugar in a single sitting,” the Cancer Council’s Craig Sinclair said on Thursday. LiveLighter campaign manager and dietitian Alison McAleese said drinking a large 7-Eleven slurpee every day in summer could result in nearly 2kg of weight gain.